Crude prices drop as Saudi Arabia cuts price

Crude prices continued to lose Wednesday as report said Saudi Arabia cut its official selling prices.

Crude prices gained in the early session as the data from the Energy Information Administration showed that U.S. crude supplies dropped 1.4 million barrels to 356.6 million barrels last week, while the expectation for it was another increase.

Crude prices pared early gains as report said the Saudi Arabian Oil Co. cut its crude benchmark prices for Asian customers. It trimmed its November prices by between 20 cents to 1.2 dollars per barrel.

Analysts regarded the cut as a battle for market share, signaling that Saudi Arabia will not lower its crude output in future. This thought weighed heavily on the crude prices.

On the economic front, U.S. private sector employment increased by 213,000 jobs in September, according to a report released Wednesday by payrolls processor ADP. The increase beat market expectations.

Investors were awaiting the U.S. Labor Department's nonfarm payroll report for September due on Friday to get a more comprehensive view of labor market conditions.

Light, sweet crude for November delivery moved down 0.43 dollars to settle at 90.73 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for November delivery lost 0.51 dollars to close at 94.16 dollars a barrel.